At MoneyWise, editorial content was the engine of growth. Understanding our audience wasn’t just a bonus — it was essential. To increase engagement, improve monetization, and align our campaigns with user intent, I led an initiative to deeply analyze our user base and tailor our content and creative accordingly.

Step 1: Identifying the Audience

I began by combining insights from Quantcast, Google Analytics, on-site surveys, and our proprietary tracking tool, Scottie. The goal was to map who was visiting our site, where they were coming from, and what they were doing once they landed.

This research surfaced three distinct audience personas:

• The Elderly Browser – Older users, often white men, attracted to display arbitrage-style content like listicles. They spent a surprising amount of time on-site and were highly responsive to visual cues.
• The Wealthy Non-Investor – Affluent professionals (doctors, engineers, government employees) who had money to invest but lacked clear direction or experience.
• The Life Event-er – Users navigating major milestones such as buying a home, starting a family, or managing debt. They primarily found us through SEO-driven evergreen content.

Using Google Analytics and Scottie, I traced the typical journeys of each segment. I visualized these flows in Miro and shared the findings company-wide through a Google Slides presentation to inform product, editorial, and ad strategy.

Step 2: Tailoring Content and Creative by Segment

With these segments defined, we reworked our marketing and content strategies for maximum resonance:

The Elderly Browser

This demographic responded best to emotional or visual triggers — patriotism, nostalgia, discounts, or young, attractive models. My team developed and rigorously tested ad creatives that leaned into these themes. This strategy proved exceptionally effective, generating millions in revenue through high-margin display arbitrage.

The Wealthy Non-Investor

For this segment, credibility and authority were key. We created content anchored in quotes and perspectives from investing celebrities like Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and Robert Kiyosaki. These articles offered a sense of guidance and confidence, prompting strong engagement.
We A/B tested landing pages and optimized placements for monetization, pushing our Earnings Per Click (EPC) to an average of $3, with peaks hitting $9.

The Life Event-er

These users were information seekers looking for quick, actionable answers — often through SEO. We overhauled on-page modules to highlight key data upfront, improving usability and decision-making.
A standout win: the redesign of our credit card comparison page, which boosted engagement from 68% to 84% by streamlining the layout and surfacing critical information more clearly.

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By combining behavioral insights with creative optimization, we aligned our editorial content and monetization strategy around the real needs of our users. This audience-first approach didn’t just improve user experience — it drove meaningful revenue growth across all core segments.